Description
A flavorful Slow Cooker Kung Pao Chicken recipe featuring tender chicken pieces cooked with crunchy peanuts, red chilies, and vegetables in a tangy, sweet, and savory sauce. Perfectly cooked in a slow cooker for a hands-off, delicious meal.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken
- 2 pounds chicken cut into bite size pieces
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons oil
Vegetables
- 8 dried red chilies seeded and sliced
- 1 red bell pepper cubed
- 1 zucchini cubed
Sauce
- ⅓ cup water
- ⅓ cup lite soy sauce
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅓ cup peanuts
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken: Toss the cubed chicken pieces with ¼ cup cornstarch until well coated.
- Brown the chicken: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Quickly brown the coated chicken pieces until they develop color, but are not cooked through.
- Add to slow cooker: Transfer the browned chicken to the slow cooker.
- Add vegetables: Add the seeded and sliced dried red chilies, cubed red bell pepper, and cubed zucchini to the slow cooker with the chicken.
- Mix the sauce: In a mixing bowl, combine ⅓ cup water, ⅓ cup lite soy sauce, ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar, ⅓ cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons ketchup, minced garlic, ground ginger, and ⅓ cup peanuts. Stir well to combine.
- Pour sauce over chicken: Pour the sauce mixture evenly over the contents in the slow cooker.
- Cook: Cover the slow cooker and cook on low heat for 4 hours to allow flavors to meld and chicken to become tender.
Notes
- For extra heat, keep some seeds in the dried red chilies or add crushed red pepper flakes.
- You can substitute chicken thighs for chicken breasts for juicier meat.
- If you prefer a thicker sauce, stir in a cornstarch slurry in the last 15 minutes of cooking.
- Serve over steamed rice or noodles for a complete meal.
- Adjust soy sauce and vinegar to taste for preferred saltiness and tang.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 700 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 14 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 28 g
- Cholesterol: 65 mg
